Bellevue native April Campbell will look to improve on her sixth place finish at the PVAM Invitational.

Photo Courtesy Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Communications

Courtesy: NU Athletic Communications

02/13/2014

Lincoln, Neb.- The NTCA sixth-ranked Nebraska women’s bowling team continues through the heart of its 2013-14 season as the Huskers will travel to the third-annual Track Kat Klash in Houston, Texas this weekend. The tournament is hosted by Sam Houston State University, at Palace Lanes in Houston, and will feature a 20-team field this year.

Nebraska Interim Head Coach Paul Klempa expects a challenging weekend for the Huskers at the Kat Klash. Klempa noted that with such a large and talented field, the Kat Klash could be the premier tournament the Huskers compete in until NU travels to the Music City Classic on March 7.

“It is going to be a lot like the Music City Classic. There is going to be a lot of very talented teams competing, making for a long day of competition,” Klempa said. “It seems like every region of the country will be represented with a talented team this weekend.”

Even with 20 of the top teams in the country, Klempa does not want that to be an excuse on how the Huskers bowl this weekend. Klempa and the team are hoping to come out of this weekend’s competition with back-to-back tournament victories.

“We are trying to win this thing, even though there will be 20 teams there, you still have your schedule---however that lands,” Klempa said. “We are going to have 15 matches total, and that means we won’t see five to seven of the teams, so even with the size of the field, to me, we are just trying to take care of our 15 matches and get out there with as many W’s as we can.”

Weather may play a part in the Kat Klash this weekend, as there was originally supposed to be 22 teams competing until weather has caused two teams to back out already.

“This was supposed to be a 22-team field, but with the recent snow storms on the East coast, we are down to 20 teams,” Klempa said. “It sounds like we are losing some of the schools from the East, but that shouldn’t affect us too much. By and large there will still be a lot of really good teams—a lot of the same cast of characters we have been facing off with over the last couple of tournaments.”

Competition begins Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. with six sets of four-game Quad Baker Pool Play (Baker format). The teams will be back for six-team game matches (Individual competition) Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Competition will conclude Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. with Baker Bracket Play, best-of-seven format.

Check back here at Huskers.com for updates throughout the weekend on the Nebraska women’s bowling team, as they continue their quest to win their fifth NCAA National Championship. Results will be posted online when received.